The Michigan Library Association is circulating a petition asking Governor Gretchen Whitmer and state lawmakers to do more to protect public libraries.
Since 2021, Michigan libraries have “confronted an unprecedented rise in coordinated attempts to ban books, restrict access to ideas, and undermine a core tenet of public libraries: to serve everyone, without bias or exclusion,” the petition reads.
“These attacks undermine the foundational role that Michigan public libraries play in every community and threaten everyone’s freedom and right to read and access information.”
But Dillon Geshel, interim director of the Michigan Library Association, said despite that reality, recent polling data show the vast majority of people in the state reject those efforts. The MLA commissioned a polling firm to survey more than 800 Michigan residents on their attitudes toward libraries, censorship, and a “right to read.”
“Michiganders really overwhelmingly approve of the work of our libraries, as well as the content of the material on their shelves,” Geshel said. “And folks don't really have an appetite for book bans.”
The MLA contends that outside efforts to control what type of content libraries can offer violate the First Amendment, and run counter to core beliefs that libraries are “spaces of free expression and knowledge for all.”
Geshel said that in most cases, these censorship attempts are driven by “very small groups, or even just one individual in a community, that's causing a big uproar on this issue. When we know from looking at the data that Michiganders support libraries and are opposed to censorship.”
Nonetheless, Geshel said the contentious environment is taking a toll on library workers. “There's pressures and demands on them to act in ways that are not in line with the value systems of libraries that we've seen since their inception in the United States,” he said.
Beyond asking state officials to take a strong stand against such efforts, the petition also asks that they “bolster public libraries’ ability to provide necessary resources during difficult times by increasing State Aid to Libraries in the next state budget.” It also urges lawmakers to increase funding for the Michigan eLibrary and statewide catalog--known respectively as MeL and MeLCat—which are at risk due to recent cuts at the federal level.
Geshel said the MLA hopes to gather at least 1,000 signatures, and submit the petition to Lansing during Library Appreciation Month in October.
